This invention relates to cargo carrying systems for motor vehicles, and particularly to a cargo carrying system for a pickup truck which allows cargo to be securely transported in a bed of the pickup truck, and which can be folded into a stowed position to allow unimpeded use of the bed.
A variety of cargo carrying devices have been developed for use with the interior areas of motor vehicles such as sport utility vehicles, station wagons and pickup trucks. With specific regard to pickup trucks, such cargo supporting systems have typically involved the use of one or more elongated panels which can be positioned by a user within the bed of the vehicle. One such system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,955,771, assigned to the assignee of the present application. This type of system, while effective for restraining items of widely varying sizes and shapes, can nevertheless impede the use of a major portion of the bed area when being used to support smaller items such as grocery bags. Such systems often also require the user to drop the tailgate of the pickup truck before being able to position the beam-like member used to divide the interior area of the truck bed, and sometimes require the user to climb into the bed to position/install the beam-like member.
In view of the foregoing, it would be highly desirable to provide some form of cargo carrying device that is specifically adapted to be used within cargo carrying areas of motor vehicles such as pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles and station wagons, which can be placed in a stowed position when not in use and easily urged into an operative position when the need arises to transport smaller packages or articles. It would further be highly desirable if such a system allowed a user to place the cargo carrying device in its operative position without having to lower the tailgate of a pickup truck or otherwise climb into the cargo carrying area of the vehicle and manipulate large beam-like space dividing members.
It would further be desirable to provide a cargo carrying device which can be used with pickup trucks, station wagons and sport utility vehicles, and which does not occupy considerable space when not in use. Such a device would allow a major portion of the cargo carrying area to be used to hold larger items of cargo without interference from the cargo carrying device.
The above and other objects are provided by a cargo carrying apparatus in accordance with preferred embodiments of the present invention. In one preferred embodiment the apparatus includes a frame having at least one opening. The frame is supported by at least one pivot assembly along a wall portion of a cargo carrying area, such as, for example, a cargo bed of a pickup truck or an interior wall of a cargo area of a sport utility vehicle. A locking mechanism is operably associated with the pivot assembly and includes a user actuatable member for disengaging the locking system. A cargo carrying element such as a net or flexible bag is secured to the opening, with the opening supporting the net or bag at its upper edge.
The frame can be disposed in a stowed position in which it is compactly positioned along the wall portion of the vehicle from which it is pivotally supported. In the stowed position the frame takes up only a very small percentage of the cargo area of the vehicle (e.g., the bed of a pickup truck). Thus, a major portion of the bed can be used to hold larger items of cargo when the apparatus is not in use.
When the need exists to support one or more smaller items of cargo, such as one or more bags of groceries, the frame can be lifted into its operative position, whereupon the pivot assembly automatically locks the frame in this position. The smaller articles can then be placed in the cargo carrying bag or net. Where the apparatus is disposed within a bed of a pickup truck, the smaller articles can be placed within the cargo carrying bag or net without the user having to climb into the bed to load the items.
After the cargo items have been removed from the cargo carrying bag or net, the actuatable member can be articulated to unlock the locking mechanism. This allows the frame to pivot into the stowed position for storage. Movement of the frame member from its operative position to its stowed position is accomplished quickly and easily.
In one preferred embodiment the frame is comprised of a single piece of high strength plastic. The frame is sufficiently light in weight so that it can be lifted with a single hand into its operative position, whereupon the locking mechanism automatically locks it in this position. The frame preferably comprises a plurality of openings which each have a cargo net or bag associated therewith for carrying a plurality of articles. The apparatus can be installed with no modification to the bed of a pickup truck.